Saturday, December 5, 2009

Pigs might, but cornmeal won't

If in some mystical, sub-zero land, reindeer can fly, surely pigs might have that opportunity one day too? Although if that makes prosciutto more difficult to come by, I'm not sure that's a good fantasy.

Glebe Point Road is some kind of fantastical spontaneous saviour of a street for anyone without dining plans. Even the not-hungry are spoilt for choice with bookstores-cum-cafes, drinking holes and other bits and bobs that make Glebe the inviting place it is.

And Flying Fajita Sisters is definitely one of those inviting establishments - colourful, bustling and packed to the gills both down- and upstairs this Monday night, including a large birthday group and a star of Wicked too. The Mexican beer list is also much fun - the Bohemia and Sol the thirst and heat-quenching picks of the night.

Chimichanga with braised chile and onion from Flying Fajita Sisters,
Glebe Point Road, Glebe

The Flying Fajita Sisters menu, however, is not quite as inviting and friendly. Those without knowledge of Mexican fare or vocabulary may struggle to understand both titles and explanations. I think in the end, it was more a case of what I could pronounce and didn't sound overly hot and spicy.

We skip the appetisers and smaller dishes in favour of a quick duo of mains, and although I think the entrees probably deserve a look in, the size of the mains confirms my decision as a sensible one.

Other than being rather fun to say, the chimichanga is quite a mouthful with Mexican rice, cherry tomato salsa, guacamole and salad served alongside. This flour tortilla, with braised chile and onion inside on this occasion, is deep fried for a crisp casing with lashings of cheese with the filling. It's definitely the first time I've tried a dish cooked and set up like this, yet the flavours are all too familiar and safe.

Jalapenos

Hence the side of jalapenos and hot chilli sauce selections from the 'Wall of Pain'. There was pain experienced and the jalapenos went mostly untouched - enough said, washed down with Sol.

Tamale with chicken in mole rojo

My tamale (also fun to say) looked delectable, especially the obviously chocolate sauce on top. The rectangle with which my choice of chicken was encased looked intriguing, half the reason why I ordered it. And when choosing the the most strangely described menu items, I suppose one has to be prepared for unlikely hits and weird misses.

The mole sauce is described as chile and chocolate, although to the non-chilli eating me, it was mostly the latter and chile that must have flown off elsewhere. The salsa in the dish and the corn mix were bright, shining bursts of freshness and flavour on the plate; the rice and salad fairly standard.

But it was the steamed, banana leaf-wrapped masa parcel that sold me, and it was the masa parcel that filled most the plate. And it was the masa parcel that utterly disapointed me - I just don't think I expected the cornmeal concoction to be quite so bland and verging on dry. Chocolate sauce, salsa and beautiful fresh corn kernels couldn't help it, and so my lump of cornmeal dough remained sadly on the plate while the rest of my meal was quite devoured.

Given the generally party atmosphere of the venue, and that it was a Monday night, it didn't have much of a 'sit and linger with desserts' vibe; although saying that, even cake and ice cream at Badde Manors couldn't tempt me. Now, when does that ever happen? Better keep a Christmas Eve eye out for those trotters running across the sky.


Flying Fajita Sistas on Urbanspoon

No comments:

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...